Billing code 88325: Pathology consultationMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $153.31 for 88325 nationally in the office and $112.56 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $143.52–$201.78.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 88325 covers

A pathologist uses 88325 for a comprehensive second-opinion consultation that goes beyond interpreting referred slides alone. The work centers on reviewing relevant medical records and diagnostic reports in the context of the pathology question, then providing a consultative written report. Typical referrals include complex or discordant cancer diagnoses sent to an academic or specialty pathology service before treatment decisions. Referring clinicians may include oncologists, surgeons, or other pathologists. This service is distinct from an intraoperative consultation during surgery.

Report 88325 when documentation supports broad review of records and reports and a consultation report, rather than review of referred slides alone or preparation of slides from referred tissue. The report should identify the material and records considered, the diagnostic question, and the consultant’s conclusions. CMS assigns physician fee schedule work and practice-expense values to the service; the practice-expense value differs between office and facility settings.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

Where 88325 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

88325 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 88325 rate is calculated

Each of 88325’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 88325

88325 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

88325 compared with similar codes

How to choose

88321Slide consultation

88321 applies to consultation on slides prepared elsewhere. Choose 88325 when the work includes comprehensive review of relevant patient records and reports.

88323Pathology consultation

88323 applies when referred material requires slide preparation. 88325 describes the broader records-and-reports consultation.

88329Pathology consult

88329 is for a pathology consultation during surgery. 88325 is for comprehensive review of a referred case, not an intraoperative service.

Codes related to 88325

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates